Friday, May 31, 2013

Parshas Shelach recounts one of the
saddest episodes in the history of the Jewish People, the sin of the Meraglim (Spies).
Moshe sent a representative, in fact the Nassi, from each tribe to scout out
their tribe’s allotted area in Eretz Yisrael. When the spies returned, their
report was designed to put Eretz Yisrael in a bad light. The Bnei Yisrael were
quick to believe these distinguished men and refused to enter Eretz Yisrael,
even though Hashem had promised them how wonderful the land was. As a result,
the Bnei Yisrael were punished by having to spend forty years in the desert and
that every adult of the generation would not enter Eretz Yisrael. The only
adults to survive the trek through the desert were the only two spies to speak
good about Eretz Yisrael, Moshe’s prize pupil, Yehoshua, and Calev ben Yefuneh.

This week’s Haftorah tells how after the
forty years, the Bnei Yisrael, led now by Yehoshua, prepared to enter Eretz Yisrael.
Before bringing the nation across the river into the land, Yehoshua sent spies
to scout out the land. The Meforshim are amazed by this. How could Yehoshua,
not only someone who lived through the sin of the spies, but someone who was
one of the spies himself, potentially make the same mistake again
and send spies to scout out the land?

The Malbim shows the difference between
the two episodes by examining the exact purpose of sending the spies in each
circumstance. He explains that there are two types of people who are sent as
advance scouts, תרים
and מרגלים.
A תר is
someone sent to scout out the land to make sure it is good for living. Is it inhabitable,
good for growing crops, good climate, etc? In this case, each Shevet had to
send one person in order to make sure their needs were taken into account.
Furthermore, this person had to be well-respected within his tribe to insure
that his word would be trusted. For example, while a prominent person from
Shevet Reuven might have already be going, Shevet Zevulun would still send one
of their own VIPs since they were looking for a completely different type of
area than Reuven as well as the fact that most of the tribe might not even know
who this person from Reuven was!

On the other hand, a מרגל is a
military spy, someone sent to scout out
the land for strategic purposes. The purpose of these spies is all about
finding the worst parts of the country, the uninhabited or insanitary places
which make them easy incursion points. In this case, not only is each tribe not
required to send a representative, it’s probably wiser that they don’t in order
that military secrets are not leaked. The only person who need be represented
here is the General of the army which means that only a small number of people
will go. It also does not matter if they are well-respected, trusted people by
the nation at large; the only person who needs to trust them is the General.

This is the difference between the Spies
in our parshah and the spies by Yehoshua. Hashem tells Moshe that he can send
spies, “וְיָתֻרוּ אֶת
אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן” “and they will scout out the land of Canaan” (Bamidbar 13:2). Hashem told Moshe to
send תרים,
men whose sole purpose was to see if their tribe’s portion was fit for them to
live and thrive, not to come back and say the land is unconquerable! This is
also why Moshe sent a representative from each tribe together with the full
knowledge of the entire nation; this was simply a tourist trip! However, the
Spies treated it like a military mission, and found all the bad parts of Eretz
Yisrael. For that reason, we refer to them as the מרגלים. This was the mistake of the Spies and
Bnei Yisrael in believing them.

In Yehoshua however,
sending מרגלים
was exactly what he wanted! Bnei Yisrael were about to enter the land and
Yehoshua needed information on how to conquer it. This is why he only sent two
men, who aren’t even named in the pasuk since their qualifications are not
necessary (unlike in our parshah where each spy is given his own pasuk!). This
mission was also carried out without public knowledge since it was purely a
military mission. This is why Yehoshua was allowed to do what he did without
any issues.

Shabbat Shalom!

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Friday, May 10, 2013

“וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי
בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית לְצֵאתָם
מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר” “Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Sinai
Desert…on the first day of the second month, in the second year…” (Bamidbar 1:1). Sefer Bamidbar opens with Moshe and Aharon being commanded to conduct
a census of Bnei Yisrael. The medrash explains the special significance for
which the pasuk needs to include the exact date when the census took place. (We
have discussed the reasons for the census itself in previous years.) In Halacha,
there are two stages to marriage. The first stage is called Erusin, betrothal, where
the bride and groom were officially dedicated to each other but were not yet
officially married. The second stage is known as Nisuin when the marriage becomes
official.

Chazal explain that when Hashem
gave us the Torah on Har Sinai, it was as if he did Erusin with us. However,
the marriage was not official till the Mishkan was completed a month before
this census was conducted. The reason the Torah includes the date of the census
is to represent the Kesubah, the marriage document which requires the date of
the wedding to be written on it. At this time, our relationship with Hashem
became official.

The Kli Yakar adds to this mashal the
fact that this census took place eleven months after the Torah was given. A
bride was typically given ten months between Erusin and Nisuin to prepare herself
financially for marriage. For this same reason, Hashem gave us ten months
between Matan Torah and the official dedication of the Mishkan, so that we
should have time to adorn ourselves with the Torah which we were given as a
wedding gift. The eleventh month was based on the gemarah (Kesubos 8a) that the
celebration of a wedding could extend up to thirty days (or more) after the
chuppah. A second way of calculating is instead of starting from the actual
giving of the Torah, start instead from when we received the Luchos, which
comes out to exactly ten months before the census.

This simple and entertaining
mashal has special significance as we approach Shavuos. From our standpoint, we
must view the Torah not only as our guide to the world and the source of our
closeness to God, which is already significant enough, but as a gift, the something
which solidifies our relationship with our Creator! The same way a bride admires
the presents she receives from her groom, so too must we look upon the Torah
with that same admiration and longing. From Hashem’s perspective, our
acceptance of the Torah is our confirmation that we are committed to our
relationship with him. As long as we consider it important, Hashem will
consider his relationship with us to be important as well. As we celebrate
Shavuos and reaffirm our acceptance of the Torah, let us keep this in mind. If
we value our relationship with Hashem, we must view the Torah as that idea
which solidifies our connection to Him. The same way a bride and groom treasure
theirs. Then we may truly bring our relationship with Hashem to its’ fullest
potential.

Friday, May 3, 2013

This week we close out Sefer Vayikra with the double parsha of Behar-Bechukosai. Parshas Behar deals mostly with the laws of Shemitah; that every seventh year, no farm work is allowed to be done. This mitzvah shows us one of the biggest proofs to the Torah's validity. If planting is prohibited during the seventh year, what food will there be to eat in the eighth year? Hashem promises us in this weeks parsha, "וְצִוִּיתִי אֶת בִּרְכָתִי לָכֶם בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית וְעָשָׂת אֶת הַתְּבוּאָה לִשְׁלשׁ הַשָּׁנִים" "I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield produce for three years." (Vayikra 25:21). In this pasuk, Hashem is essentially guaranteeing the truth of the Torah. By saying that the land will produce three years worth of produce at once, if it does not happen then the people will know the Torah is not true! Since our forefathers did indeed keep the Torah, it must be that this miracle occurred every Shemitah cycle. The full context of the pesukim reads, "וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ מַה נֹּאכַל בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת...וְצִוִּיתִי אֶת בִּרְכָתִי לָכֶם בַּשָּׁנָה הַשִּׁשִּׁית וְעָשָׂת אֶת הַתְּבוּאָה לִשְׁלֹשׁ הַשָּׁנִים" "And if you should say, 'what will we eat in the seventh year?...I will command my blessing for you..." (25:20-21). The meforshim debate at what point exactly Bnei Yisrael's fears of a famine will start. The Ramban says that since the food harvested in the sixth year will last through the seventh year, as the typical practice is to eat food that was grown the previous year, Bnei Yisrael will start to worry only then about what they will eat in the eighth year. So Hashem promises that from the sixth year there will be enough food to last through the eighth. The Kli Yakar asks that this does not make any sense! If the food harvested in the sixth year will be enough to last through the eighth, why would Bnei Yisrael start to worry in the seventh? They already have the food for next year saved up! He explains that the amount of food produced in the sixth year will be the same amount as usual. However, that food will have a bracha on it that it will expand in your stomach so that much less food is necessary to fill you up. So while the amount of food looks like it can only last one year, it will actually be able to last for longer. This is why Bnei Yisrael will still worry after the food has been harvested, since it will not appear to be enough. The Sichos Mussar, written by Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz, explains how this concept is the main point of Shemitah. The medrash at the beginning of Vayikra says that the people who keep Shemitah are called "גיבורי כח", which would be translated nowadays as "heroes". The medrash explains how a typical mitzvah is done in a moment, a day, perhaps even longer, but to perform a mitzvah for an entire year, especially one that compromises your livelihood, what shows more strength than that! When Bnei Yisrael answered "נעשה ונשמע" at Har Sinai, they reached the level of angels; the same way angels are ready to perform a task even before they hear it, so too were Bnei Yisrael ready to accept the Torah before even knowing what it entailed. Same with those who keep Shemitah; the farmers show no hesitation or wonder how to survive the year with no crops or in the future with their land being ruined by the crowds of people trolling through to pick the free crops (all crops become ownerless on Shemitah and therefore everyone has equal rights to them). They simply accept the commandment from Hashem and practice "נעשה ונשמע". The amazing thing about this mitzvah, which puts you on the level of angels, is that every single person has the opportunity to practice it! Even if you are not a farmer, different challenges arise just by living in Eretz Yisrael during Shemitah and by overcoming them, you fulfill the mitzvah. The fact that everyone has this chance shows how every single Jew has the potential (and maybe is expected to be) to reach the level of angels. Still, with this opportunity comes a great responsibility. The Torah tells us that the punishment for not keeping Shemitah is Galus, exile from Eretz Yisrael. In fact, Chazal teach us that the first Galus lasted seventy years because Bnei Yisrael did not keep seventy Shemitah years. But why is the punishment so harsh? The Sichos Mussar explains that the point of Shemitah is to allow Bnei Yisrael to work on their bitachon, faith, in Hashem. This is why the mitzvah was given even to the simplest Jews, the unlearned farmers, and this is why the punishment for not keeping this mitzvah is so harsh; because without bitachon, a Jew is nothing. This is what is so important about the Kli Yakar's explanation; if there is only enough food to last one year, what will be left for the next? According to the Kli Yakar, this is the test of Shemitah. Hashem promises there will be enough food even though it does not appear that way. The key is to trust in Hashem that this food will be enough for the future. By fulfilling the true purpose of Shemitah, we will be zoche to stay in Eretz Yisrael together with the rebuilt Beis Hamikdash!Shabbat Shalom!Click here for last year's Dvar Torah for BeharClick here for last year's Dvar Torah for Bechukosai

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